§ 105. Mr. Hall-Davisasked the Minister of Transport what estimates she has made about the number of container berths that will be required to handle the expected flow of container traffic in the years 1970, 1975 and 1980.
§ 106. Mr. Peytonasked the Minister of Transport what estimate she has made of the level of investment in container berths that is required over the next decade.
§ Mr. SwinglerStudies undertaken both by the shipping companies and port authorities and by the National Ports Council and the Department are helping us to assess the long-term pattern of container facilities, particularly for deep-sea services, but it is too early to make firm estimates beyond the early 1970s. My right hon. Friend is satisfied that existing deep-sea facilities together with those318W under construction, authorised and planned (totally 13 berths costing some £2½ million on average) will be adequate for that period. Continental services use both lift-on and roll-on methods, and future demands for particular facilities cannot easily be assessed. But port authorities can and do quickly tailor provision of these less expensive facilities to demands as they arise.